Saturday, July 24, 2010

Georgios Printezis left Olympiakos last season after two years to play for Unicaja, where he averaged 9.8 points and 3.2 rebounds per game in the ACB League. Now, the Greek team could be interested in bringing back the 25-year-old forward despite having another year of contract with Unicaja. The Spanish club, though, could decide to let him go due to his high salary.

As expected, Paulius Jankunas is back to Zalgiris Kaunas. The 26-year-old Lithuanian forward, who left Zalgiris last season to play for Khimki, was signed to a two-year contract, with an option to an extra year. Jankunas averaged 6.6 points and 2.8 rebounds per game in the last Russian Super League.

The deal for Aleks Maric almost close. Partizan has agreed to trade the 25-year-old Australian-Serbian center to Panathinaikos, and the Greek team could also have reached to a two-year deal with Maric. The player will move to Greece after one season in Partizan, averaging 14.6 points and 8.5 rebounds per game in the last Euroleague.

After playing during the last four seasons in Israel, Chester "Tre" Simmons will continue his career in the Czech Republic. The 28-year-old American guard has agreed to play next season for CEZ Nymburk. Simmons arrives to the current Czech champion after averaging 12.2 points and 3.8 rebounds per game for Hapoel Jerusalem in the last Israeli Super League.

Sharon Drucker, coach of Aris Thessaloniki, will try to convince the 24-year-old Belgian guard Sam Van Rossom to move to the Greek team next season in the Nokia Arena of Tel Aviv, where Belgium will play against Israel. But Drucker will also meet Marcus Faison to land him next season in Aris. The 32-year-old guard started last season in Peristeri, but moved to Dnipro Dnepropetrovsk on March, averaging 16.2 points and 4.7 rebounds per game in the Ukrainian Super League.

Damir Mrsic could be close to call it a career. The veteran 39-year-old Bosnian-Turkish guard, who has played during the last six seasons for Fenerbahce, was undecided about playing for one more season, but would have finally decided to retire. Mrsic, who started his professional career in 1989, averaged 5.2 points and 0.8 assists per game during the last TBL.

The official announcement of the signing of Aleks Maric for Panathinaikos could arrive soon, but this wouldn't mean that Sofoklis Schortsanitis is not on the radar of the "green" team anymore. The 25-year-old center could still land in the current Greek champion. Schortsanitis would be also in talks to re-sign with Olympiakos, his former team, though the negotiations are still in an early stage.

The negotiation between Zalgiris Kaunas and Paulius Jankunas could be close to end with a deal. The Lithuanian team is close to sign the 26-year-old forward to a two-year contract, with an option to an extra year. Jankunas won't continue in Khimki after averaging 6.6 points and 2.8 rebounds per game in the last Russian Super League.

Yakhouba Diawara is back to Italy after four seasons in the NBA. The 27-year-old French forward, who averaged 0.8 points and 0.7 rebounds per game last season for the Miami Heat, was signed by Enel Brindisi, as expected. This will be the second stint of Diawara in the Lega A, after playing during the 2005-06 season for Fortitudo Bologna.

Milan Macvan has already attracted the interest of the two Turkish teams. Besides Fenerbahce, Efes Pilsen also wants to land the 20-year-old Serbian forward, who averaged 14.6 points and 5.8 rebounds per game for Hemofarm during the last Adriatic League. Efes Pilsen, though, is also considering Lawrence Roberts for the power forward position.

Despite the interest of Zalgiris Kaunas to sign Rok Stipcevic, the 24-year-old Croatian guard wants to stay in his country. Stipcevic, who has played during almost his entire career for KK Zadar, wants to play for Cibona Zagreb, according to his agent. The current champion of the Croatian league has already made an offer for Stipecevic.

Antalya has singed Devan Downey for the next season. The 22-year-old American guard will start his career as a professional in the Turkish club after playing during the last three seasons for the University of South Carolina, averaging 22.5 points and 3.5 assists per game in his senior year.

As expected, Dimitrios Tsaldaris will continue his career in Dinamo Sassari. The recently promoted Italian team has announced the signing of the 30-year-old Greek guard. Tsaldaris arrives to Sassari after averaging 7.8 points and 1.7 rebounds per game for Sutor Montegranaro in the last Lega A.

Montepaschi Siena is looking for an alternative to Earl Calloway, a former target of the Italian club who finally decided to re-sign with Cajasol. The new targets of the champion of the last Lega A are Lynn Greer, who played last season in Fenerbahce, and Darius Washington, from Lottomatica Roma.

Martynas Gecevicius is not the only shooting guard in the short list of Unicaja. The Spanish team is also interested in Uros Tripkovic. The Serbian 24-year-old guard played last season for DKV Joventut, averaging 11.0 points and 2.1 rebounds per game, and has been reported to be on the radar of Real Madrid, CSKA Moscow and the New York Knicks during the last days.

Assignia Manresa is tracking the market for a replacement for Kaloyan Ivanov, who left the team to play for Cajasol. The short list of candidates is including players like the British center Daniel Clark (who could leave Asefa Estudiantes), the Canadian forward Levon Kendall (from Maroussi BC) and the Serbian players Dragan Labovic (who finished last season in the Deutsche Bank Skyliners) and Nikola Dragovic (from the UCLA)

Juan Pedro "Juampi" Gutiérrez could finally stay in the ACB league. The 26-year-old Argentinian-Spanish center reached to a verbal agreement with Obras Sanitarias weeks ago, but he could be also considering other offers from Spanish teams. CAI Zaragoza could be interested in landing him next season. Another team who had Gutiérrez, who has played during the last six seasons for CB Granada, is Bizkaia Bilbao Basket, but the Spanish team has finally decided to sign Eduardo Hernández-Sonseca, from DKV Joventut, to an offer sheet.

The future of Rok Stipcevic could be far from Croatia. The 24-year-old guard would be close to reach to an agreement with Zalgiris Kaunas, according to the Croatian media. Stipcevic, who has played during his almost entire career for KK Zadar, averaged 13.0 points and 3.9 assists per game in the last Adriatic League.